Tennessee's Smith, former No. 1 recruit, cleared after blood clots in lungs

Tennessee offensive lineman Trey Smith has been cleared to play in 2018 after he was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs earlier this year.

"When I first got the verdict back in February, I understood the severity of what was going on, Smith told ESPN's Chris Low. "But it was comforting that everybody at UT just kept telling me that it wasn't about football, but about my well-being and my life, and not when I was going to get back. They were concerned about me as a person."

Smith was the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2017 recruiting class and a Freshman All-American in his first season with the Volunteers.

The towering lineman missed Tennessee's spring practices this year and will be held out of contact drills for the time being, but the team believes he'll be ready for the 2018 season opener.

"He's been cleared to do conditioning and drills as long as it's non-contact, and probably about mid-August and sometime before the first game, he will be off the anticoagulants and able to resume contact," Dr. Chris Klenck, Tennessee's team physician, told ESPN. "There's always a risk of a new blood clot forming. There is no scenario where the risk is zero percent. There's still a chance. You just have to be vigilant of signs and symptoms of blood clots."

Smith's return would be a big boost for the Volunteers' offensive line in Jeremy Pruitt's first season as head coach.